The present invention is directed to a vending case for storing therein small stackable retail items and, more particularly, to a flexible, cabinet-shaped module with hardware accessories which allow the retailer to configure the case to provide both variously sized storage bin and shelf space and/or a wire hook hanging area for supporting hangable items on wire hooks.
Small stackable items such as cigarettes and the like are often displayed in and dispensed from relatively small open cases which contain horizontally extending shelves and vertical dividers to provide in the case variously sized and readily accessible bins for holding the stackable items therein.
Manufacturers, such as Trans World Manufacturing Company, the assignee herein, have been supplying for some time modular cases in kit form which the merchandiser can assemble to obtain the variously sized bin and shelf space. Optional attachments for the modular case include items such as a header for displaying information at the top of the case, a specially shaped bottom shelf, a so-called front face open shelf and other various accessories.
The basic components of this known case are illustrated in FIGS. 1-4 and will be described in greater detail later herein. For the present it suffices to note that the case comes with a back panel which contains a plurality of specially shaped support holes arranged in a predetermined order. The accessories such as the vertical dividers etc., are formed with generally L-shaped hooks which are sized and spaced from each other to enable their insertion in the support holes to assure safe and secure attachment of the accessories to the back panel of the modular case.
As noted above, the bin and shelf space provided by this known device is quite useful for storing and displaying stackable items such as cigarettes and the like. It is not, however, optimized or useful for supporting the numerous small items which come with a hang hole in their packaging by which the items are intended to be hung on conventional and standardized wire hooks which are familiar to most shoppers.
The wire hooks have an elongated, rather stiff, stem on which several of the packages may be hung and a prong arrangement which enables the wire hooks to be removably inserted into a vertically extending peg board. The peg board contains numerous and closely spaced prong receiving circular support holes.
In contrast to the support holes for the standard wire hooks which are circular and closely spaced, the support holes in the back panel of the modular cases for the stackable items are peculiarly shaped and specifically spaced to receive the special hooks disposed on the conventional accessories for the modular case. To date such cases have not been supplied with means for supporting wire hooks therein and the alternative of stacking the hangable items in such cases is impractical and unattractive.
Although its advantages are many, the prior art has not realized to date the benefits to be gained from providing merchants with the ability to use standard wire hooks in existing cases which otherwise presently support only bin and shelf hardware.